This is my journey.

Day 31 – Portos to Arzua

It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt. That’s what I was thinking to myself a good part of today. The reality was that it did hurt. Whatever my leg pain is hasn’t gone away and walking another 34 km on it didn’t seem to help. I have to count myself lucky though because in 31 days, only at the end on my journey am I dealing with major pain. It won’t stop me. I will walk into Santiago two days from now.

Today wasn’t as bad as I made it just sound. Though the last few kilometers I was cursing the guidebook author more than I had in days before. Flat he said. Downhill he said. Sure, some of today was flat and some of today was downhill. He forgot to mention that for every downhill there was a major climb back up. Be looking for my honest review on Amazon sometime after I get back, John Brierley.

The Camino is a different Camino now. It’s no longer just those in it for the long haul (from St. Jean in France to Santiago…or farther). Now it’s the “Sunday Strollers” Camino. Or the FNG group….ask me in person if you really want to know what that means. They started in Sarria, most of them. They have their little daypack. They are fresh and excited about starting their big Camino journey. They are not the “family” that you meet at the beginning of the Camino. You try not to hate these people, but sometimes it’s a bit hard. 🙂 They’re good people too, but their very chipper “Buen Camino!” is sometimes the last thing you want to hear.

My Camino family had a photo contest today. We were trying individually to get the best picture of the day. I decided to ask half of Spain to pose with me for my picture…